The present invention relates to a device for the automatic loading of a gun with large-caliber ammunition, the gun being mounted in a tank turret. The device includes a magazine mounted to revolve coaxially with the turret, and an elevator, which at zero elevation for the gun bore axis, allows a cartridge from the revolving magazine to be raised in front of a gun cartridge opening to supply the cartridge to the gun.
In a known design of this type (DE-OS 1578093) a carrier ring is rotatably mounted on the inner periphery of the turret rotary cage, for rotation with the turret, and with respect to the turret. The carrier ring forms a revolving magazine whereby thereon single slide units each for one cartridge are mounted around and adjacent each other. On top, the slide units have a reverse T slot, which, together with all the other slide unit slots, forms a snap ring groove, into which the crosshead of an elevator thread can slide, this thread being run in the top plate of the gun bore axis. In this way, the slide unit carrying the cartridge therebelow with a downwardly suspended projectile, can be pulled up and be forwardly tilted into a horizontal position by means of a tilting mechanism. Subsequently, a rammer can move the cartridge from the slide unit and insert it into the gun barrel. Following the cartridge loading step, the empty slide again must be returned to the carrier of the revolving magazine to close the snap-ring groove circle. The cartridges arranged around and adjacent each other are limited to a single layer therein. Therefore, no large amount of cartridges can be accommodated. The adding of another magazine is neither provided for nor possible so that no increase in the ammunition store to be carried along can be considered. The turret combat space all around is limited by the arrangement of the cartridges on the inner periphery of the rotary cage. The cartridge is relatively high in position with a resultant high-set center of gravity. The cartridge elevator operates in stages of an upward-and swiveling motion. The pickup of each single cartridge in its own slide unit is complicated and requires additional empty space.